...Why We Need More Sleep Don't you hate waking up early in the morning? Almost every weekday, high school students are waking up around six o'clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier. It's not practical for high school classes to start at 7:44. It's just too early for teenage minds to function properly. Our school should start at least an hour later than that. With the extra hour, our attendance would improve, as well as our grades and attitudes. The facts are all there, so why shouldn't the hours change? On average in today’s society most teens don’t like going to school that early in the morning. To have to wake up so early when they only get about seven hours of sleep, to have students be coming into school at 7:30AM or maybe even earlier in some other schools, is not right. Students need to have time at night to get work done, not only schoolwork but also non-schoolwork. Needless to say, the school schedule for high school students needs to be changed and be made where they go in later. That way they get their work done and get enough sleep because without much sleep students will not be getting high grades. A health survey that the University Health Center administered showed them that one in four students say that lack of sleep has affected their academic performance in a bad way (“Sleep Rocks”). Sleep deprivation impairs students’ ability to be alert, pay attention, solve problems, cope with stress, and retain information. Academic performances on...
Words: 1642 - Pages: 7
...2012 College English/Surinak Senior Research Paper Period 2 Wake Up Later and Your Grades Will Be Greater High school is a part of every teenager’s life whether they like it or not. Although it is not a requirement; most, if not all, teenagers will experience at least one year of high school. With the experience of high school, students will also go through waking up early sometimes at five or six a.m. The starting time of high schools has been highly debated for several years. Those who debate this topic usually dispute on whether or not changing the time would be beneficial. Psychologists estimate that as many as 30% of children may have a sleep disorder at some point during childhood. Sleep disorders have implications both for social-emotional adjustment and for school performance. For this reason it is important for both parents and educators to understand how sleep works and how disruptions in normal sleep patterns can affect children and teenagers. Starting school just a half an hour later would benefit the most families and students, and also to accommodate for teens' sleep needs. One of the main beneficial topics to argue for starting school later is attendance. Schools should start later because it is proven that students will have higher attendance. If students can get more sleep, they are more likely to attend school on a regular basis. Studies have shown that after puberty, teenagers require more sleep, around nine and a half hours, and are getting less...
Words: 1990 - Pages: 8
...morning? Almost every weekday, high school students are waking up around six o'clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier. It's not practical for high school classes to start at 7:44. It's just too early for teenage minds to function properly. Our school should start at least an hour later than that. With the extra hour, our attendance would improve, as well as our grades and attitudes. The facts are all there, so why shouldn't the hours change? For the 1997-1998 school years, the University of Minnesota conducted a study on Minneapolis high schools. Their starting times were changed from 7:15 to 8:40. The results of this change were obvious. Teachers reported that students were more alert during the first two periods of the day and that attendance improved by five percent. After such a revealing study, why aren't more schools catching on? It's a proven fact that teenagers need between 8 ½ and nine hours of sleep each night. It's also a proven fact that only fifteen percent of teenagers get the sleep that they need. Can you believe that more than twenty-five percent of teenagers sleep less than seven hours a night? Are you one of those teenagers? Well, part of the reason why this is happening is because school starts so early in the morning. If school hours were changed, teenagers would be much healthier and feel better about themselves. Furthermore, school officials are always complaining that so many of their students are constantly tardy to school. They even...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...Why do schools start at 8 a.m.? It is because it is more convenient for parents that have children in elementary school. School starts too early for teens; it is natural for elementary children to start at 8 a.m. but not teenagers. Teenagers need more sleep than older adults and young children. Schools should start later because students be more alert and healthier as well as schools will save money. Schools starting later will help students be more alert. The lack of sleep most adolescents get can cause moodiness, lack of attention, memory problems, behavior issues, and the ability to function (kqed). People between 14-24 years old are the most likely to be sleep deprived and it is due to not getting enough sleep during the week (iflscience). Benefits of sleeping include increased memory and learning, better attention span. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 70% of high-school students report sleeping for seven hours or less on a regular basis (time). This proves that the majority of students are sleep...
Words: 1804 - Pages: 8
...morning? Almost every weekday, high school students are waking up around six o'clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier. It's not practical for high school classes to start at 7:44. It's just too early for teenage minds to function properly. Our school should start at least an hour later than that. With the extra hour, our attendance would improve, as well as our grades and attitudes. The facts are all there, so why shouldn't the hours change? For the 1997-1998 school year, the University of Minnesota conducted a study on Minneapolis high schools. Their starting times were changed from 7:15 to 8:40. The results of this change were obvious. Teachers reported that students were more alert during the first two periods of the day and that attendance improved by five percent. After such a revealing study, why aren't more schools catching on? It's a proven fact that teenagers need between 8 ½ and nine hours of sleep each night. It's also a proven fact that only fifteen percent of teenagers get the sleep that they need. Can you believe that more than twenty-five percent of teenagers sleep less than seven hours a night? Are you one of those teenagers? Well, part of the reason why this is happening is because school starts so early in the morning. If school hours were changed, teenagers would be much healthier and feel better about themselves. Furthermore, school officials are always complaining that so many of their students are constantly tardy to school. They even...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...Should high school classes begin later in the day and end later of the natural sleep clock? No because teenagers have jobs in the afternoon when they get out of school and teenagers don't want to be late for there job. Some people have kids they have to go pick up after school at a certain time of the day. If we go to school later in the day it will be so many hours we have to stay in school, people probably tired and have stuff to do after school. Teenagers have practices for sports or any type of activities in school and they have to be there a certain time. In my opinion classes shouldn't start later or end later of the because it will stressful to get things done in the day. Mostly, teenagers that are in high school have jobs...
Words: 545 - Pages: 3
...Since schools have early start times this causes problems for those who need the required amount of sleep.Especially since students are still growing and developing they need sleep. Schools should have later start times, and there are various reasons why this should happen. One reason if school should start later is according to the broadcast “Science says teens need more sleep.So why is it so hard to start school later?” It states that “ Research shows that early school start times are bad for teenagers' mental and physical health.”This shows that waking up early is harmful for many reasons.Especially one that affects your mental and physical health.This is not great since your body is still developing and growing. Another reason to support if schools should start later is in the article “Students could get more sleep and learn better if school started a little...
Words: 418 - Pages: 2
...sound is definitely dreaded by a vast majority of people. Some of the people who hate this sound the most are teenagers and adolescents. They never seem to get the amount of sleep that they need. After barely making it out of bed, everyone has their own morning routine, like washing up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, or even doing last night’s homework. Then comes the race to make it to homeroom before the bell rings. Sadly, this is the daily morning routine of almost every teenager in America. This only gets worse when they have to spend their school day yawning and daydreaming about their comfy bed at home. Secondary schools should have a later starting...
Words: 1322 - Pages: 6
... Students attend school everyday of the week and stay there for many hours. School should start later on in the morning. It should start later because kids would be more awake and willing to learn, students in Paramus Catholic have to travel far distances every morning, and it allows kids to get a couple more hours of sleep. If school started later, mornings for students and parents would be less stressful because there wouldn’t be as much of a rush. Paramus Catholic starts at 7:45 A.M. That is very early in the morning. Most students are not fully woken up yet when they start learning. How are kids supposed to be asked to complete an algebra or history test that early in the morning when their brains aren’t fully functioning? Students would be more willing to learn because they won’t be in a grumpy mood. They’ll be awake and the teachers can get more accomplished. Paramus Catholic Regional High School consists of students from 120 different towns. Students who live a half hour or even an hour away have to wake up extremely early just to get to school on time. Some student’s have to take the public bus. The students at Paramus Catholic get dismissed very early. Instead of making the students arrive to school so early in the morning, the faculty can make school start later and the students will get dismissed later on in the after noon. Another good reason why getting dismissed later on in the afternoon is because a lot of parents work and don’t get let out until five...
Words: 474 - Pages: 2
...Carskadon, PhD) High-Schools throughout the United States can start as early as 7:15 am. Studies are proving that this is having a very negative effect on the student body. Not only are the students not performing as well as they could, but their physical and mental health is in jeopardy too. Schools should start later in the day. First, the early start times have been proved to be affecting the teenager’s health. Dr. Judith Owens, Director of Sleep Medicine at Children’s National Health System, says “The research...
Words: 1268 - Pages: 6
...First of all, schools should start later because kids would get more sleep. In the article “Why School Should Start Later In the Morning” By Emily Richmond it states that “Getting enough sleep is important for students health, safety, and academic performance states Anne Wheaton, the lead author and epidemiologist in the CDC division of population health.” Not only would kids be getting more sleep for their health, they wouldn’t be cranky in the morning . This matters because when kids are cranky to their teachers, the teachers don’t like it because their jobs are already hard enough and if schools started later I am sure teachers would appreciate it as much as or even more than students. Additionally, in the article “Pediatricians Say School Should Start Later for Teens Health” by Nancy Shute it states that “Doctors say that 15% of high schools start 8:30 a.m. or later and that 40% start before 8:00 a.m.” Imagine getting...
Words: 685 - Pages: 3
...Dear Miss Evans, I think that schools should start later because kids wake up late sometimes when they are trying to go to school. This means that the problem is that the kids need more time when they wake up to get ready for school. schools should start later because kids have said that they are tired in class and that they need more sleep. There are multiple reasons why schools should start later. Evidence for my claim is that there are pictures on the gale of them showing kids that are yawning and trying to stay awake in class. There are also pictures of the kids walking to school when the sun is rising. This shows that the kids are going to school early and that they need more time to get up and be ready. Also, they need more time to sleep because...
Words: 504 - Pages: 3
...Did you know that lack of sleep in children and teenagers can have a negative effect on their health and can cause kids to be less active and even lead to obesity? Schools all over the world should start later because of the mental health effects a lack of sleep can have on a student. One piece of evidence from the article “School Start Times” is, “Doctors say that kids between the ages of six to twelve should get nine to twelve hours of sleep a night to make sure they stay healthy.” This piece of evidence from the text supports my claim because this quote explains that if kids don't get a proper amount of sleep it could damage their health. The amount of sleep we need to get is different for everyone but studies show the more sleep you get the better students focus in class, so why do schools make students start so early if they know the students won't be at their best learning capability?...
Words: 463 - Pages: 2
...With teenagers' busy schedules today, the first activity to give way is usually sleep. However, the sleep deficit of teenagers today is hampering high school students' achievement. To accommodate for teens' sleep needs, high schools should start later in the day than they do now (based on review of several newspaper articles, it appears that most schools starting times range from 7:00-8:30 a.m.). This action would better satisfy the sleep needs of teenagers, improve their academic performance, be beneficial for families of elementary school students, and increase safety. Delaying the high school schedule, even if only by half an hour, would be beneficial to the sleep needs of teenagers. Studies have shown that after puberty, teenagers require more sleep (about 9.5hrs) but get less sleep (about 7.5hrs). (1) Mary Carskadon of Brown University performed an elaborate scientific study on the sleeping patterns of adolescents. (2) Her research, later verified by other studies, found that not only do teenagers need more sleep, their sleep patterns shift. (3) After puberty, teens' circadian rhythms shift into a delayed phase. Indicators of the circadian rhythms other than the sleep-wake cycle , such as temperature , hormone secretion , and melatonin level , all start and end later in the day than when they had prior to puberty. This is why teenagers would do better to go to bed later and to wake up later. Of course, it would be best for them to use the extra time to get more sleep,...
Words: 796 - Pages: 4
...Imagine a 16 year old girl that's going to drive and her two friends getting into a car she starts driving and right away there’s a stop light, while they're waiting the friend in the backs asks the girl driving to turn around to look at a text on her phone as the girl turns around to look unknowingly her foot slips off the break and starts rolling into the intersection and nobody notices because they're all still looking at the girl's phone seconds later a car hits the passenger side and flips the car, by 12 hours later they all had passed at the hospital. Teens are reckless their brains are not mature enough to be driving and not developed enough to make quick rational decisions when driving. This is a reason why the legal driving limit should be raised to 18. Why risk your teen’s life by letting them drive instead of waiting two years till their minds are a little more developed....
Words: 634 - Pages: 3
